''Asplenium anceps'' is a diploid

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

of family

Aspleniaceae The Aspleniaceae (spleenworts) are a family of ferns, included in the order Polypodiales. The composition and classification of the family have been subject to considerable changes. In particular, there is a narrow circumscription, Aspleniaceae ...

and one of the ancestors of the ferns that form the trichomanes complex. It lives exclusively in the three northernmost archipelagoes of the

Macaronesian Macaronesia (Portuguese: ''Macaronésia,'' Spanish: ''Macaronesia'') is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of Atlantic oceanic islands ...

region, that is, is an endemic macaronesian fern. Its fronds are leathery and plastic and rachis is very thick, bright reddish brown and is traversed throughout its length of three wings, two on the upper surface to draw a groove and a third on the lower surface which is characteristic and unique to this species, since all other species of the trichomanes complex without. A typical feature of this fern, which he shares with all its hybrid offspring (Asplenium azoricum, Asplenium azomanes and Asplenium X tubalense) is the existence of a small atrium on the basis of medium and less pinnae directed toward the apex of the blade with one or two sori on its underside.

Taxonomy

A global phylogeny of ''Asplenium'' published in 2020 divided the genus into eleven clades, which were given informal names pending further taxonomic study. ''A. anceps'' belongs to the "''A. trichomanes'' subclade" of the "''A. trichomanes'' clade". The ''A. trichomanes'' clade has a worldwide distribution. Members of the clade grow on rocks and have once-pinnate leaf blades with slender, chestnut- to dark-brown stalks. The ''A. trichomanes'' subclade also has brown, membraneous wings or projections on the side of the rachis. Relatives within the subclade include the (polyphyletic) '' A. trichomanes'' and '' A. tripteropus''.

Habitat

It grows in the shade of laurel forests and high mountain pine forests between the stones of the walls and crevices of volcanic rock oriented north and northwest, on a base of moss and lichen.

Distribution

It lives in

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

and

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. Since 1972 there have been no records of this plant in the Azores.

Hybrids

* Asplenium azoricum: allotetraploid hybrid by cross between A. anceps and an individual of trichomanes complex.

References

Sources

*
Asplenium anceps in Azores IslandsAsplenium anceps in Red List of "Flora Vascular Española"
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2391581 anceps Endemic flora of Macaronesia Plants described in 1830